Robert and Tawn Montgomery are likely exhausted, but it’s one of those great moments when your body doesn’t care because the adrenaline rush is exhilarating at the same time. The St. Joe couple lifts the veil on a project that has been underway for more than a year and a half now wherein they literally raised the roof and created The Terrace at 221, high atop their already highly successful 221 Main – Restaurant & Cocktail House at 221 Main Street in St. Joseph.
The ambitious project took flight after what Robert calls “one of the most expensive lightbulbs to ever go off in Tawn’s head.” She discovered an establishment that had converted a rooftop dining experience into a full-tilt inside/outside affair complete with a stone fireplace and accordion doors that bring the outside in and the inside out.
Following an extensive fact-finding trip to Chicago to study rooftop ventures that have been highly successful and innovative there, the blueprints started to be drafted and today the resulting space on the second floor at 221 Main is nothing short of stunning.
After ascending the staircase from the main dining room on the ground floor, diners will step into a space that looks as if it has been transported from a first-class venue in the likes of Chicago, Las Vegas or event Paris. It is elegant, but very functional, eye-popping yet practical, and will likely be the scene of many a lively party or even just a romantic dinner on Valentine’s Day.
The Terrace at 221 Main was, as Robert tells it, “Originally apartments, and they weren’t very pretty apartments at that.” He tells me, “A lot of work went into creating the space.” He says as the tear-down on the upper level got underway he discovered a second floor alley in between what was the core building and the former Potter’s news stand which now houses the main floor bar of 221 Main. He says, “If you were standing along that banquette wall, you were looking up at the sky!” The exterior brick that no faces that north wall adds a tremendous amount of character to The Terrace.
Montgomery says they worked diligently to re-purpose as much as they could from the building, so a lot of the wood that you see is over 100 years old. He says when they tore the roof off of the building, they salvaged as much as they could. In fact, the whole face of the awesome bar is comprised of the old roof rafters. The footrest at the base of the bar comes from the huge wooden beams that were once overhead. He says, “We polished them down, stained them, and that’s a major part of the bar.”
Robert built the entire back bar himself…the full 26 to 28 foot long bar that now sports tons of spirits including his signature offering of “221 whiskies…all of which can be sampled by the ounce,” so you can determine which you might like without having to purchase a full glass.
Montgomery says, “We tried to have a lot of things that are really going to catch everybody’s eye. We have the fireplace on the patio, a live wall of plants that’s fully irrigated and features grow lights on timers so they will continue to grow over time, and a wine tower capped off by a soaring wrought iron gate, locked with a period lock from days of old.
It was the Chicago fact-finding mission that he and Tawn undertook that triggered the idea to offer his 221 individual whiskies by the ounce, so if you’ve always wanted to taste the ultra-pricey Johnny Walker Blue, for example, you can buy a single ounce instead of a full pour.
The Terrace also features the only booth in the entire building, a private niche that will seat six comfortably, but if you really wanted to squeeze your friends in, you could add a couple of chairs along the edge and have a party of probably nine people if you wanted.
Capacity of The Terrace at 221 on the inside is around 60 and when the rooftop patio opens up you could probably seat another 60 to 70 out there. It will open in the spring and scattered heaters will help maintain business during the shoulder seasons of spring and fall.
The Terrace features a completely different menu from the downstairs restaurant. The focus up top will be mostly small plates, “with a lot of stuff for sharing, a really great charcuterie board, and all kinds of stuff,” says Robert, however they will also feature four main entrees one each in the beef, chicken, lamb, and seafood categories plus some great salads.
Robert says, “The whole focus is on having a nice social atmosphere, where people can really get together and enjoy whether its a couple or a group.” He calls it a real nice atmosphere for enjoying some really good food, some great cocktails, some nice wine, and a pretty neat space.”
The Montgomerys added a complete new kitchen on the rooftop, a dish area, separate bathrooms, back of house operations, two bars — one inside and one serving the patio — and essentially Robert says, “We could literally shut down the main floor and we could still operate independently with no problem.”
Chef Conor Gibbons, who attended culinary school at LMC some years back and came over from Tabor Hill Winery about two and a half years ago became Executive Chef a year and a half ago and Robert says, “We’ve never looked back, he’s been awesome, and really brings a lot of talent to the table.”
The Terrace at 221 has resulted in about 15 new hires and they are still looking for a few positions, but the rooftop officially opens for business at 4pm this afternoon, Wednesday, February 8th and will be open Wednesday through Sunday each week at 4pm with final seatings at 9:30pm…with later hours coming as the weather warms up.
Prepare to be impressed. Robert & Tawn have crafted a remarkably warm and friendly space taking night life to a whole new level, and it will likely become a huge draw for folks looking for a night out on the town. The Terrace at 221 is age restricted to 21 and over.
